The United States is deeply disappointed that the sides have failed to adhere to the ceasefire. Courtney Austrian, Deputy Chief of US Mission to the OSCE Permanent Council, Vienna, stated this at the Permanent Council on Thursday, presenting the US statement regarding the conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

“There is no military solution to this conflict.  We urge the sides to abide by their commitments to cease the violence and pursue a diplomatic solution to the conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

We urge the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach agreement on access to and the exchange of detainees and remains during their talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross and with the support of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.  We call on the sides to observe fully their obligations under international humanitarian law, including their obligations related to protection of civilians and civilian objects.

The United States condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing violence along the Line of Contact, including attacks reportedly hitting civilian populations well beyond the Line of Contact.

We call on external parties not to contribute to the ongoing violence, but instead to use their influence to urge both sides to adhere to the humanitarian ceasefire and to return to substantive negotiations under the auspices of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

 

Mr. Chair, this conflict cannot be resolved through military means. The only solution is a negotiated settlement based on the basic principles well known by both sides. We urge Armenia and Azerbaijan to cease inflammatory rhetoric, to abide by the humanitarian ceasefire they committed to in Moscow, Paris, and Washington, and to conclude substantive negotiations to end this conflict and its tragic toll on human lives,” the aforesaid statement also reads in particular.